


A Well-Purposed Fountain

by merihobu



Category: The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-28
Updated: 2014-08-28
Packaged: 2018-02-15 04:36:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2216061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/merihobu/pseuds/merihobu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With some help, Ecthelion invents the drinking fountain.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Well-Purposed Fountain

**Author's Note:**

> This story takes place in the early days of Gondolin.

Glorfindel groaned as the light breeze subsided and sweltering stillness descended upon the city again. Grabbing the book beside him, he began to fan himself vigorously.

“Stop fidgeting like a restless adolescent. You’re only making things worse, and you know the librarians hate it when people abuse their books.”

Glorfindel made a dismissive noise. “They won’t know. Besides, I salute anyone with the energy to get worked up in this heat.” His fanning intensified.

Ecthelion rolled his eyes. “You know, my mother used to say that a calm heart keeps one cool.”

“I take it your mother never suffered through summers as abominable as these?”

“As a matter of fact, we had it even worse where we lived—which explains my current serene demeanour, as well as my amusement at your flailing. Amusement which will quickly become annoyance if you don’t stop complaining soon. I might have to push you into the fountain, to shut you up and cool you off properly.”

“What, and face the wrath of the librarians when we bring back their sodden book?”

“Not I—the book is borrowed under your name.”

Glorfindel glared at Ecthelion and returned the book to the fountain edge on which they sat. Behind them, water shot from the open snouts of the narwhals and sea lions surrounding a statue of Ulmo and spilled from his cupped hands into the wide basin below. 

The musical babble of the fountain was interrupted by a decidedly unmusical groan from Glorfindel, who, upon uncorking his water flask, sat surveying its near-empty interior with dismay. He tipped the last remaining drops onto his tongue and turned towards Ecthelion. “I don’t suppose you have any water left?”

“Sadly, I too drained my own flask some time ago: I am not immune to the heat, despite reacting to it in a manner far more befitting of my age and station.”

Glorfindel dipped a hand into the basin and was about to give Ecthelion a good splash when he froze, hand still half-immersed in the water. An all-too-familiar gleam of inspiration appeared in his eyes. “Ha! To think I was lamenting the lack of water—when all the while there were vast quantities right behind me! Why didn’t I think of this before?” With that, he snatched up his flask and made as if to dip it into the pool.

“No, no, wait!” Ecthelion grabbed Glorfindel’s wrist and dragged it away from the water. “You really do not want to drink from that. Have you any idea how much dust and debris water attracts? The bottom of this pool is littered with coins, and besides, there are fish in there—just think of all the waste they produce! And if that still does not put you off, I can recall at least four occasions in which a drunken reveller, no doubt set off by the sound of cascading water, mistook a fountain for a toilet in the wee hours of the night.”

“Really? How crass. Did you give them a telling-off?”

Ecthelion looked away. “I suppose you could say that; they certainly regretted it once they sobered up in the morning. But it has been long since I last witnessed such an act. Anyway”—he raised his voice slightly, ignoring Glorfindel’s curious gaze—“if you really must drink from a fountain, at least go for the fresh water from the spout.”

“…Which is too far away, no doubt due to faulty design.”

Ecthelion bristled at the jab. “I only made that so because people sitting by the fountains of Vinyamar kept complaining about rogue spray! _You_ try designing fountains that would please everyone.”

“Here’s an idea: design a fountain from which one can safely and conveniently drink on a hot summer's day, and I guarantee you the eternal love and gratitude of _all_ the Gondolindrim. Starting with me.” Glorfindel smiled, but Ecthelion, lost in thought, failed to notice.

“So… something both decorative _and_ functional,” he said slowly, “…from which people can drink directly, or refill their water flasks. Hmm. The best option for that would be… an arc projection, I think, with a long water spout. It looks much nicer than a tap, and that way the excess water will not fall back onto the nozzle, compromising hygiene. A drinking fountain!” Ecthelion turned towards Glorfindel, his expression uncharacteristically animated. “We could have one in all the busiest areas: the courts, the squares, the training grounds, the salons… perhaps even outside the more popular drinking houses, to minimise hangovers and encourage temperance in alcohol consumption!” He leapt to his feet. “I cannot believe no one has thought of this earlier. Who would have expected such an ingenious idea from a frivolous fop like you?” Grinning, Ecthelion clapped Glorfindel on the shoulder before bending down to gather his belongings. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to speak with my plumbers and stone masons—wait, what are you doing that for?!” For Glorfindel was leaning over the water again, trailing a cupped hand in the basin. 

“This,” he replied, and tossed a handful of water at Ecthelion. “I hope it did not dampen your enthusiasm.”

**Author's Note:**

> \- Many thanks to tehta for the beta, and for finding the right words when they elude me.
> 
> \- In case anyone was wondering about the fountain design, it is inspired by a passage in _The Book of Lost Tales II_ ( _The Fall of Gondolin_ ) that has always amused me:
>
>> Behold now Ulmo leapt upon his car before the doorway of his palace below the still waters of the Outer Sea; and his car was drawn by narwhal and sealion and was in fashion like a whale; and amidst the sounding of great conches he sped from Ulmonan.
> 
>   
> SOMEBODY PLEASE MAKE FANART OF THAT.
> 
> \- The “research” I did on pre-electricity fountains seems to suggest that they essentially worked like a tap left on, where the runoff drained away instead of being pumped back to the fountain head(s). So, if the fountains of Gondolin were fed by mountain streams that continued downriver from the city, the freshest water would come from the spout… I think? Please correct me if I’m wrong.
> 
> \- Okay, I know that historically, the point of fountains was to hold and supply water, so the premise of this story is pretty weak, but… we are dealing with Noldor here, so maybe they focused on the decorative aspects first?
> 
> \- All feedback is very welcome, and thank you for reading!


End file.
